Fells Point Businesses, Residents Frustrated Without Power

BGE Call Center Receives 700,000 Calls

The aftermath of Hurricane Isabel is still causing major headaches Monday night as almost 200,000 people do not have power -- and many are trying to return to their heavily damaged homes.

WBAL-TV 11 News reporter John Sherman reported that four days after Baltimore's Fells Point fell under deep water, some things are almost back to normal. But several businesses at the end of Broadway still do not have power, frustrating employees and patrons alike.

By flashlight, Fells Point resident Suzanne Merrill called Baltimore Gas and Electric using any means necessary to get a live voice on the other end of the phone.

At the BGE call center, operators let people like Merrill lay out their frustrations.

"We've taken over 700,000 total calls at the call center," BGE spokesman Tom Pellegrini said. "Customers are getting frustrated now, and as time goes on, the frustration grows."

"We're calling in to complain and so are the other people on our block, but no one's listening," Merrill said.

Merrill's not alone. Next door, the staff at the Admirals Cup call BGE continuously as well.

"We've called them quite a few times today. They can't tell us anything," Jeff Stone, the manager of the Admirals Cup, said.

Down below the bar, Stone's flashlight shows the problem: the power meter looked more like a fish bowl.

"We got meters full of water, and there's power going in to the meters, but we can't turn on our circuit breakers," Stone said.

"Right now, every available man we have is in the field trying to restore service," Pellegrini said.

With their problem classified as a "repair order," a borrowed generator will have to keep the lights on for now. But a solution from BGE reopening the businesses for good is likely still days away, Sherman said.

But in Fells Point, 95 percent of the businesses are open -- which is little comfort to some in the section of Tems Street without power.

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